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Comparative Commentary on Media Control and 1984 Essay Sample

“The truth of the matter is buried under edifice after edifice of lies upon lies”1 said Noam Chomsky. In the passage taken from the book “Media Control” written by Noam Chomsky, history can be perceived differently when there is a governmental effort to present the truth in a falsified manner. In the passage, falsification of truth is conveyed through the example of the manipulation of the statistical data on casualty rate in the Vietnam War. Based on the passage taken from the novel “1984” written by George Orwell, the manipulation of the truth are shown through some statistics such as the mortality rate and the literate rate of proles.

In the passage, Winston thinks about the fact that their history has been erased and the erasure has been forgotten. In these two passages, political knowledge of people has been affected by the councils. To make this, history has been consciously and deliberately erased by the authorities and people have become to believe what was actually a lie. Therefore, falsification is the main idea in both of these passages. The historical matters may be manipulated by the authorities in order to make the community believe in the altered facts that are most beneficial for the government and for the society itself.

The manipulation of truth is the main theme of these two passages. Authorities are manipulating the truth in order to affect people and change their perceptions about the history. Chomsky stated South Vietnam War as an example. Kennedy employees tried hard to make people view the war as in a shape that war is something noble and right. Chomsky also mentioned that, this plan has worked and most Americans has become to believe in the death

rate of Vietnamese is less than the actual figures which shows the readers the authorities can re-arrange bad thoughts and restore good feelings and change people’s minds whenever they want. Comparing with Chomsky’s passage, the same theme is covered in the passage from the “1984”.

The tone of both passages is critical. In the passage taken from Media Control, Chomsky criticizes the government’s control over the media and its utilization of media to distort the truth about America’s war against South Vietnam. According to Chomsky, US government succeeded affecting the nation’s views and feelings towards war through such media propaganda. At this point, the writer criticizes the US government’s foreign policy regarding South Vietnam and states that the US government has total control over the media to make its foreign policy official and well understood picture which also underlies the fact that the US government aims to falsify history. Although the critic in 1984 is the main character of the book, Winston has similar point of view as Chomsky.

Winston’s view of the 1984 world is strictly governed by the Big Brother. He criticized the Party for manipulating the statistics and facts about the world. He shows his distrust by stating that “Not a word of it could ever be proved or disproved.” Winston argues that the history is erased and erasure was forgotten. By mentioning this, he refers to an authority like the government model in Chomsky’s passage which tries to show whatever it does is for the community’s benefit, not for its policies and solely itself. Thus, Winston criticizes implicitly his discomfort regarding the Big Brother’s exposure through telescreens and implies that he is currently unhappy with the situation. With these ideas in mind, it is obvious that Chomsky and Winston are critical of an authority or government which directly affects the tone of the language in both passages.

In summary, the manipulation of truth is explained with a critical tone in both of these passages. Political knowledge of people has been affected by the councils. In order to achieve this, history has been consciously and deliberately erased by the authorities and people have become to believe what was actually a lie. Therefore, falsification is the main idea in both of these passages. The historical matters may be manipulated by the authorities in order to make the community believe in the altered facts that are most beneficial for the government and for the society itself.

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